


Stress Test

by lacegreyviolets



Category: Sorted (Website) RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 00:05:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17970644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lacegreyviolets/pseuds/lacegreyviolets
Summary: When Mike joined Sorted, he never expected making videos with friends from school would be as high stress as it's turned out to be.





	Stress Test

**Author's Note:**

> Just quiet flirtatious fluff.

When Mike joined Sorted, he never expected making videos with friends from school would be as high stress as it's turned out to be.

It does look like fun, and yes most of the time it is as much fun as it seems, but when the recipes aren't working the way they've worked the last five times, and deadlines are approaching, everyone in the studio gets a little on edge.

\---

James was running a second test on a cherry chocolate bread recipe when the acrid smell of burning chocolate started to spread through the kitchen.

Jamie and Ben crowded in as James pulled the large boule out of the oven and set the pan on the board to his left. It wasn't often that James was the one to cause a burned smell.

"Is it both under baked and burnt?" Jamie asked as the bread began to collapse to the right.

 James leaned against the counter, stretching out his arms in front of him, while Ben tried to offer help and troubleshoot.

"Is there a hot spot in the oven?" He asked.

"We did the toast test yesterday when the sheet cakes were catching on the edges, but the toasts came out even, and I rotated the bread" James replied, voice rising as he leaned further into the counter.

"We'll just have to try the toast again," Ben said.

James turned and slid down the cabinets to sit on the floor, head thrown back against the counter, still holding the towel he used to pull the bread from the oven.

\---

James and Ben usually deal with stress the best. Their generally level headed natures balance out Barry, Mike, and Jamie. But even though James and Ben are typically the level headed ones, they all have their signs of stress.

Barry will push his hands up through his hair, ruffling his curls higher when he's under pressure. He doesn't have much of a personal bubble in the best of times, but Barry's especially touchy when he's overwhelmed.

Jamie pushes the teams buttons whether he's stressed or relaxed. When he's not stressed, he knows where the line is, but when they're all under pressure, the demarcation is fainter.

When Mike is stressed, he paces. The studio is too small for Mike when he reaches peak stress, and then he'll head out into the street. There's an alley next to a coffee shop a ways down the street that he's walked up and down repeatedly, at least once a month for the last few years.

The normally unflappable Ben gets flustered under high pressure. His attention to detail fades, and the high pressure situation continues. But Ben is a problem solver, and he gets organized. Ben's stress never lasts long. He reins in a stressful situation by becoming even more himself.

James smokes. He knows it's not great, and he knows the stats—80% in his age range don't smoke, the LGBT population is twice as likely to smoke because of industry targeting— _he knows_. He's mostly down to a cigarette after drinks, but when the pressure is just too much, stepping outside to smoke is a relief.

\---

Mike was editing when the smell of burning chocolate washed through the studio.

Camera B somehow white-balanced incorrectly halfway through shooting on Monday, and it's just off enough to drive him mental.

He and Barry both had a go at color-correcting, but his attempt turned the highlights too green, and Barry somehow turned the shadows a lovely shade of plum.

Mike spent a few more minutes fiddling with the color-correcting to try to fix the green highlights. He finally settled on something he thought was OK and set the video to render before an automatic operating system update took hold while he was in the bathroom.

Mike had been walking up and down the stairs all morning, but with the computer update, he was pushed over the edge.

"I'm back in 20 minutes" Mike called over his shoulder as he headed out.

Barry, Ben, and Jamie made noises of acknowledgement as Mike left.

\---

When Mike pushed the door open to get outside, he saw James walking. He paused for a moment, but then followed in the same direction as James, headed towards his original alley target.

Mike followed behind James for several blocks, walking quickly to try to keep up with James' longer strides. He eventually caught up to James, and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Headed anywhere? Mind if I walk with you for a bit?" Mike asked.

"Just needed to get out of the kitchen. You?"

"The studio was feeling a bit small"

"Mmmm" James had seen Mike's pacing in their shared workspace for years, and understood.

Mike took the lead at a narrow spot in the pavement, and kept ahead of James until he reached the alley and turned in.

James followed Mike into the alley, and leaned his back against the brick while fishing through his jacket.

Mike paced up and down the alley, cataloging the changes in the street art in the alley. There was a new geometric piece low and opposite James.

James found and lit his cigarette in Mike's first round through the alley.

"What a fucking week," Mike said as he passed James' exhaled cloud of smoke.

"I'm in complete agreement," James said.

"How do so many things go wrong, and all at once?"

"No idea. No idea."

They're both quiet for a minute. James exhaling smoke and Mike kicking some of the gravel as he continued his walk up and down the alley.

As Mike passed James again, James reached out and grabbed Mike's wrist with his free hand.

"Come here."

Mike let himself be pulled towards the wall, landing with one shoulder against the wall, angled towards James.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" James asked.

"Not unless your time in the computer science course taught you how to disable automatic system updates forever."

James rolled his eyes a little, but smiled.

"Anything I can do?"

"Only if you have a temperamental oven repair guide"

"Hmmm. What if I find one on Amazon for you?" Mike joked, reaching for his phone.

James dropped his cigarette and turned to face Mike.

"You're a dork"

"Yeah, I am"

The tension in both of them seemed to shift.

James looked down at Mike.

Mike ducked his head after a moment.

"I really would find you an oven repair guide."

"I know you would."

They leaned into each other, shifting so James was back against the wall. They stayed there for several minutes, breathing slowly before Mike extricated himself.

"We should probably head back," he said.

"You're right."

\---

When he came in the following Monday, James found the oven's owner's guide, a list of common problems reported, and a handwritten list of oven part numbers on his desk.

Mike didn't notice right away, but he does have to manually download most updates, and the ones he doesn't, he can schedule.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Re-watched the London Marathon video this week and it flipped a switch in my brain, so you got un-betaed fluff.


End file.
